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Modern Times, Old Roads | The End
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 03-06-2014 09:10
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World Champion
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Ah well, Greg should be used to these dick moves after all those years with Gilbert 
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| VoetsT |
Posted on 03-06-2014 09:15
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 851
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That's actually a sad story, the end of friendship 
But that was an awesome report style
One question: Is it just luck that Greg and Matt crossed the line "together" and Matt was first or did you plan it?
Edited by VoetsT on 03-06-2014 09:30
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| TimoCycling |
Posted on 03-06-2014 09:29
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Sprinter
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Hahahahaha another nice move |
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 03-06-2014 09:32
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Matt with some sneaky moves ^.^ |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 10:04
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2014 09:36
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Shonak - Thanks, glad you liked the report. And I totally understand Greg, too, here  Though I'm not sure Matt did it on purpose here. I guess we'll never know for sure!
Ollfardh - Amen
VoetsT - Thanks. And yes, a sad tale indeed... I wanted them to cross the line together but I actually wanted Greg to finish first, but I clicked relay too soon, it seems. so I had to change my story a bit and came up with this.
TimoCycling - Thanks, I guess?
Schleck96 - Sneaky moves? 
Just to avoid confusion, Matt didn't steal a victory in De Ronde. He brought Greg to the finish, doing all the work and then offered him the win. But Greg said they'd cross the line together. He didn't say: stay half a meter behind me. So crossing the line together means crossing it together. He also didn't say: cross it together but let me win. anyway, hope you enjoyed that report! |
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| Shonak |
Posted on 03-06-2014 09:48
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
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In any case, I look forward to some exciting racing come the next year. GVA will be a true nemesis. But first Paris - Roubaix  Quadruple!
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| Martial1 |
Posted on 03-06-2014 12:12
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 388
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Brilliant. Brilliant report, brilliant race, brilliant writing.
I love how even though Matt is having the best season of his life, he's not happy with it. Not only does it make him seem more human, but it allows him to get more wins without people complaining that he is OP 
NOW...
Spoiler  ROUBAIX!!!! |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 03-06-2014 12:29
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Team Leader
Posts: 7297
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Not your fault for crossing the line that tiny bit earlier. He said cross together and thats what you did!!
A great win that you actually deserved. Not your fault!
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 03-06-2014 13:45
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
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Great report mate  , but something tells me Greg is going to hate you forever  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2014 14:28
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
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Shonak - Greg will be there on the front line next year! But right now, Quadruple indeed!!
Martial1 - Thanks a lot! Even in the best period of his professional career, he's "losing". But taking Roubaix would ease the pain for sure
Jakstar22 - Exactly my thoughts thanks!
sutty68 - I guess that's something Matt's going to have to live with |
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| FonsDeSpons |
Posted on 03-06-2014 15:41
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Stagiare
Posts: 160
Joined: 30-10-2013
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I would be pist as hell if I was standing in greg's shoes!
Nice wins btw! |
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| jona500 |
Posted on 03-06-2014 19:39
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Junior Rider
Posts: 29
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You won classics, but lost a friend. You did defenitely not lose a story-follower though Let's say Matt just has bigger wheels than Greg and that's the reason he won
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2014 19:55
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
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FonsDeSpons - Thanks! Yeah, I would be pretty mad, too
jona500 - Thanks a lot, mate Yeah, I like that reason
I kind of wanted to do Roubaix in the same report style (How I met Your Mother), but that would be overdoing it. I'll be doing a different report, hopefully later today! |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 03-06-2014 20:01
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
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I DO HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER!!!!
RRRRAAAAGGGGGEEEEEE
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2014 20:02
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
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What are you talking about, TMM? |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-06-2014 20:36
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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 Paris - Roubaix
The Spring Quartet
The Spring Quartet, or the Quadruple.
E3 - Harelbeke, Gent - Wevelgem, Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Paris - Roubaix.
E3 - Harelbeke was a display of strength. I was so motivated at the start and gave it my all. It was my second win there and I took it with force.
Gent - Wevelgem was the race that I never should've won. I should've let Greg win. But then again, as the strongest man in the race, is it fair to "let" another man win? Would he embrace a victory given to him?
Ronde Van Vlaanderen was beautiful, in a way. It was my third, record-scoring, victory there, in the Rainbow jersey, next to a dear friend... Who used this against me. But once again, wasn't I the strongest man in the race? Didn't we agree to cross the line together?
Up until here, I think I have earned all these victories. And then there's one more...
Paris - Roubaix
One man did it before. Tom Boonen. Today, he is in the team car.
Profile
 I've stranded on a fourth place last year, 16th the year before and a victory the year before that. So I can win here. Despite my initial thoughts at the start of my career, Roubaix is the cobbled race that suits me less.
Oh I had dreaded this, but my worst nightmare became reality when Greg Van Avermaet disobeyed team orders and attacked!
The team intercom was going crazy.
"Greg, you're out of order, get back!"
"Greg, where are you going?"
The guy had his earpiece unplugged. I understood where this was coming from, but I couldn't sit back and let it happen.
The guy took along my three strongest opponents: Stybar, Vanmarcke and Vanbilsen. I had chasing to do and it was still so early in the race. DAMN IT!
They worked hard to prevent me from coming back.
But I did return. I was strong, but I had lost so much energy. I looked at Greg as soon as I joined. Eye contact for one brief moment, and then he attacked out of the group.
He was overconfident. He got caught - and dropped. He was like a yo-yo today.
While he was fighting to return again, I was fending off attacks left and right. I was dying, really dying.
Right before the Velodrome, everyone kept their legs still, allowing Van Avermaet to return. Boonen was afraid to ask over the intercom, but he did:
"Greg, will you lead-out Matt?"
But he didn't.
After a tough race, I couldn't develop a top speed. It was me against Stybar. Flashback to the World Championship Road Race 2016.
Who won that again?
Oh, right...
| 1 | Zdenek Stybar | ASUS | 6h15'38 | | 2 | Matthias Vleminckx | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 3 | Kenneth Vanbilsen | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 4 | Niki Terpstra | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 5 | Sep Vanmarcke | ASUS | s.t. | | 6 | Yohan Offredo | Gazprom | s.t. | | 7 | Greg Van Avermaet | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 8 | Arnaud Demare | FDJ.fr | + 2'42 | | 9 | Geraint Thomas | Team Sky | s.t. | | 10 | Oscar Gatto | Cannondale | s.t. |
Spoiler | 11 | Lars Boom | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 12 | Matthieu Ladagnous | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 13 | Jasper Stuyven | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 14 | Silvan Dillier | SAP | s.t. | | 15 | Sebastian Langeveld | Garmin Sharp | s.t. | | 16 | Sébastien Turgot | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 17 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 18 | Alexander Kristoff | Garmin Sharp | + 4'07 | | 19 | Rick Zabel | SAP | s.t. | | 20 | Caleb Ewan | ExxonMobil - Geberit | s.t. | | 21 | Fabio Sabatini | Cannondale | s.t. | | 22 | Yauheni Hutarovich | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 23 | Heinrich Haussler | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 24 | Salvatore Puccio | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 25 | Iljo Keisse | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 26 | Marco Bandiera | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 27 | Marco Marcato | Cannondale | s.t. | | 28 | Tony Gallopin | Lotto Belisol | + 9'05 | | 29 | Julien Duval | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 30 | Koen De Kort | ASUS | + 13'57 | | 31 | Adam Blythe | Team Sky | s.t. | | 32 | Scott Thwaites | Team Sky | s.t. | | 33 | Matteo Trentin | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 34 | Mark Cavendish | Team Sky | s.t. | | 35 | Nikolas Maes | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 36 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 37 | Jarl Salomein | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 38 | Sven M. Schuster | SAP | s.t. | | 39 | Klaas Lodewyck | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 40 | Magnus Cort | Gazprom | s.t. | | 41 | Maarten Wynants | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 42 | Tom Veelers | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 43 | Tom Leezer | ASUS | s.t. | | 44 | Marcus Burghardt | SAP | s.t. | | 45 | Morgan Lamoisson | Truffaut | s.t. | | 46 | Roger Kluge | SAP | s.t. | | 47 | Ivan Lytvynenko | Gazprom | s.t. | | 48 | Vyacheslav Kuznetsov | RusVelo | s.t. | | 49 | William Bonnet | Truffaut | + 14'36 | | 50 | Jens Keukeleire | RusVelo | + 15'15 | | 51 | Taylor Phinney | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 16'12 | | 52 | Vincent Jérôme | AG2R La Mondiale | + 16'58 | | 53 | Elmar Reinders | ASUS | + 19'07 | | 54 | Gorka Izagirre | Movistar Team | + 19'29 | | 55 | Mickaël Delage | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 56 | Kristof Vandewalle | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 57 | Rüdiger Selig | SAP | s.t. | | 58 | Leigh Howard | Exergy Development Group | + 20'54 | | 59 | Bob Jungels | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 60 | Romain Feillu | Team Sky | + 21'30 | | 61 | Dylan van Baarle | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 21'53 | | 62 | Simone Ponzi | Team Sky | + 22'14 | | 63 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Team Sky | s.t. | | 64 | Giacomo Nizzolo | Garmin Sharp | s.t. | | 65 | Kris Boeckmans | Movistar Team | + 22'50 | | 66 | Fabio Felline | Cannondale | s.t. | | 67 | Giorgio Brambilla | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 68 | Steven Kruijswijk | ASUS | s.t. | | 69 | André Greipel | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 70 | Vladimir Gusev | RusVelo | s.t. | | 71 | Joshua Berry | Exergy Development Group | s.t. | | 72 | Jesse Sergent | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 73 | Alexey Lutsenko | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 74 | Ben Hermans | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 75 | Enrico Montanari | Bardiani CSF | + 24'19 | | 76 | Jesús Herrada | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 77 | Jonas Vangenechten | Truffaut | + 24'55 | | 78 | Jesper Asselman | Team Sky | s.t. | | 79 | Roy Jans | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 80 | Nikolai Trussov | RusVelo | s.t. | | 81 | Andrea Guardini | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 82 | Enrico Battaglin | Cannondale | s.t. | | 83 | Cyril Lemoine | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 84 | Zico Waeytens | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 85 | Lasse Norman Hansen | Gazprom | s.t. | | 86 | Jonas Rickaert | TEAM Soleco | + 26'21 | | 87 | Marcel Aregger | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 88 | Wouter Wippert | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 89 | Michael Kolar | Gazprom | + 26'55 | | 90 | Cédric Pineau | Truffaut | + 27'16 | | 91 | Cyril Gautier | Schuller | + 27'39 | | 92 | Enrico Barbin | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 93 | Rolando de Santos | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 94 | Alessandro Pirro | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 95 | Jakob Rathe | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 96 | Max Kroes | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 97 | Benoit Drujon | Super U | s.t. | | 98 | Patrick Gretsch | SAP | s.t. | | 99 | Ryan Mullen | Garmin Sharp | s.t. | | 100 | Michael Hepburn | ExxonMobil - Geberit | s.t. | | 101 | Bob Schoonbroodt | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 102 | Lilian Laroche | Super U | s.t. | | 103 | Marco Canola | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 104 | Etienne Tortelier | Schuller | s.t. | | 105 | Jesse Anthony | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 106 | Benjamin Verraes | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 107 | Kirill Pozdnyakov | RusVelo | s.t. | | 108 | Stijn Vandenbergh | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 109 | Lukas Pöstlberger | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 110 | Warren Barguil | ExxonMobil - Geberit | s.t. | | 111 | Vincent Jackson | Exergy Development Group | s.t. | | 112 | Olegs Melehs | Schuller | s.t. | | 113 | Bram Santon | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 114 | Yannick Eijssen | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 115 | Enrico Gasparotto | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 116 | Frantisek Padour | SAP | s.t. | | 117 | Rudy Molard | Truffaut | s.t. | | 118 | Matias Alvares | ExxonMobil - Geberit | s.t. | | 119 | Lieuwe Westra | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 120 | Damien Howson | ExxonMobil - Geberit | s.t. | | 121 | Niels Albert | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 122 | Thibault Bourbon | Super U | s.t. | | 123 | Clément Koretzky | Super U | s.t. | | 124 | Filippo Baggio | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 125 | Emmanuel Guy | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 126 | Jonathan Hivert | Super U | s.t. | | 127 | Craig Lewis | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 128 | Guo Ji | ASUS | s.t. | | 129 | Brent Bookwalter | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 130 | Perrig Quemeneur | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 131 | Thierry Hupond | ASUS | s.t. | | 132 | Martin Velits | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 133 | Mateo Fuerte | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 134 | Hiranuma Nakamura | Garmin Sharp | s.t. | | 135 | Saúl Montoya | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 136 | Jay McCarthy | Gazprom | + 30'25 | | 137 | Nicolas Baldo | Schuller | + 30'47 | | 138 | Sergey Rudaskov | RusVelo | + 32'51 | | 139 | Alessandro Malaguti | Bardiani CSF | + 33'34 | | 140 | Alexander Serov | Gazprom | + 34'25 | | 141 | Igor Antón | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 142 | Kenny Elissonde | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 143 | Tycho van Benschoten | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 144 | Alexander Foliforov | RusVelo | s.t. | | 145 | Kevin De Weert | TEAM Soleco | s.t. |
It all fell apart here.
In a way, I can't blame Greg. He saw his chance to win the Ronde or Wevelgem go to waste, and he made sure I missed mine to complete my quadruple.
But I can't condone this, too. Greg is no longer a friend. No.
After what seemed like the longest interview of my life, explaining over and over again how I ruined my chance at the quadruple to the Belgian press, I got in the car and took my cell phone.
"Tom?"
"Matt, where are you?"
"I'm sorry Tom."
"Don't worry about it, kid. You did your best. Where are you?"
"Listen, I need to get away for a while."
(...)
"Tom?"
"That's okay. Matt, I understand. Tell you what, take a week off. Come back next Monday and we'll talk. It's all right."
"Thanks, Tom. Listen, about Greg..."
"He was out of order. He'll be punished."
"Don't, please."
"Listen, Matt, you sh --"
"Please, just don't. I appreciate it. See you, Tom."
So I went home and I packed my bags.
For the first time, I didn't pack my Rainbow Jersey.
I just didn't feel like a champion that day.
Too much was lost that day. It was fall from grace. Your majesty the King, the World Champion, the Power from Deinze.
In the end I was just a 26 year old guy with a talent for cycling and an even bigger talent for screwing up an amazing friendship. Does that sound like a champion to you?
It was time to remind myself who I was.
Who I am,
Matt |
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| TimoCycling |
Posted on 03-06-2014 20:49
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Sprinter
Posts: 1765
Joined: 27-08-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Damn it Greg!! You somehow deserved it though |
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| VoetsT |
Posted on 03-06-2014 20:55
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 851
Joined: 29-06-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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That end of the report seems like the and is near. Please Matt, don't stop now
Spoiler But yeah, PCM 2014 is on his way and so is "The Two of Us"
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| admirschleck |
Posted on 03-06-2014 20:56
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Team Leader
Posts: 6690
Joined: 11-10-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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You're such a good writer that it's a shame that you spend your "energy" here, writing these amateur, PCM stuff. I am serious. I don't usually read your stories and reports (I am just honest), but that last report was stunning, something best I've ever read on this site.
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| Shonak |
Posted on 03-06-2014 21:57
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00
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Amazing post there. Wonder what follows next.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
